Make America Read Again

Because I’m a typical “type A” kind of girl, I love setting goals. I recently watched a TED talk about a blogger who read a book from every country in the world in one year. ONE YEAR, people. That’s almost 200 books. Color me impressed. And also inspired. How can a self-proclaimed travel addict and bibliophile like myself have lived nearly three decades without reading or visiting the majority of the world?!? Unacceptable.

Now, due to my current full-time work schedule (ugh, cavities, what a drag) and life, reading that many books in a year is more than a little overwhelming. Besides, I have a hard time limiting myself to a specific list of books and not having room for new release titles or advanced copies I’m given from publishers that I want to binge on immediately.

So instead, I decided to go all patriotic on y’all and limit my list to America the Beautiful.

Now, I’ve started a draft of my list of possible choices. A couple of rules I made for myself:

1) Avoid any books that I’ve already read (that’s why “To Kill a Mockingbird” isn’t on my list for Alabama, for example, or “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” for Georgia. Already got those covered in my Deep South education). I did make an exception for Mississippi with Absalom, Absalom! because that book is incredible and I missed a lot of its import the first time I read it, back in college.

2) Try to pick books that are not only set in the state, but actually describe the state’s culture or evoke the attitudes and perceptions of that state.

There are still a few states in which I’m gonna need your help to find a good selection (see the bolded or blank states in the list), and some states I listed a few choices to give myself some leeway depending on my reading mood.

I’ll be starting this project this week, so wish me luck! Anyone want to join in? Anyone have suggestions? Please? (Esp. the Midwest, Indiana has become a real thorn in my side while making this list).

Vote on your favorite pick from each state in the comments below, too! I want to hear your recommendations!

Without further ado…

Meg’s “Make America Read Again” List

Alabama – All Over but the Shoutin’/ The Watson’s Go To BirminghamAlaska – The Snow Child, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Hawaii – Democracy by Joan Didion, Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, Moloka’i, Hawaii: A Novel by James A. Michener, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Idaho – Idaho, Train Dreams by Denis JohnsonIllinois – Then We Came to the End, Native Son, The House on Mango Street, American Gods by Neil Gaiman (partially), the Nix by Nathan Hill

Indiana – The Magnificent Ambersons

Iowa – Gilead by Marilynne RobinsonKansas – In Cold Blood by Truman CapoteKentucky – The Sport of Kings Louisiana – A Confederacy of Dunces , All The King’s Men Maine – The Cider House Rules, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,

Minnesota – Freedom by Jonathan Franzen , The History Of WolvesMississippi – Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, Salvage the Bones Missouri – Stoner by John Williams

Montana – A River Runs Through It , the horse whisperer

Nebraska – My Antonia, Eleanor and Park

Nevada – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

New Hampshire – A Prayer for Owen Meaney

New Jersey – Are you there God? It’s Me, Margaret, American Pastoral

New Mexico

New York – The Age of Innocence, The Custom of the Country, A Little Life, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Goldfinch, The Diviners, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Sweetbitter

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3 thoughts on “Make America Read Again”

I don’t know most of the books you’ve listed, but I’ll vote for two that I loved – Their Eyes Were Watching God, which I think is a great choice for Florida, and American Pastoral, which I unanimously voted as THE Great American Novel quite recently – a fantastic book! Enjoy your challenge – sounds like great fun! 😀